I'll Never Leave You
by DeathRiders
Summary: Jason finds Thalia crying in Cabin One... Why?


Jason was having a pretty good day. The sun had stayed in the sky the whole day and he had gotten off lightly in regards to chores, but more importantly his sister, Thalia had arrived in camp that morning. Not accompanied by the hunters, Jason was all the more excited for the next seven days, as often times Thalia would get stuck having to choose were to spend her time.

Jason always looked forward to Thalia's visits, even if he didn't get to spend as much time with her as he would have liked. He understood that he wasn't the only one she wanted to see, nor the only one who wanted to see her during her few short visits each year. He just appreciated and enjoyed the time that he did get and tried to make as much time for her as possible; he knew she did the same.

It was early fall, and most campers had gone off for school leaving only the year round campers and stragglers behind. This meant that this time, Jason would have most of Thalia's attention. He couldn't wait to spend some much needed time with his sister, they had yet to catch up on so much after being seperated for most of their lives. Jason was a ball of energy when she arrived.

After dropping off Thalia's thing for the week in cabin one, the two had spent that day walking around camp, talking. They talked about her time with the Hunt (she had some hilarious stories involving pink glitter hairspray and a water balloon filled with glue) and Jason's recent trip back to Camp Jupiter. Jason had really enjoyed his day, but by the time dinner had rolled around something didn't seem right.

On their way to the dining pavilion Thalia had started to seem… different. She didn't smile as much, wasn't as talkative. She just wasn't… Thalia. They had to pass by the cabins on their way to the pavillion and as soon as they got close, Thailai excused herself saying she wasn't all that hungry. Worried, Jason offered to go with her, but Thalia insisted he go eat and that she was fine. Reluctantly Jason agreed and let Thalia to walk to cabin one alone.

"She just said she wasn't hungry. I didn't wanna fight with her over it." Jason said. He had decided to IM Percy just after dinner. He was sure the Percy would know what he had done to piss off his sister.

"Weird. You sure you didn't say anything? She never skips meals." Percy said.

"No, I sure. Look, I'm gonna head back to cabin one and check on her. She's probably just not feeling well. Thanks anyways, " sighed Jason, shaking his head.

"No problem, good luck." Percy slashed through the image cutting it off. Jason shook his head, took a deep breath and started the short walk to cabin 1. The whole way there Jason ran over every conversation he had with his sister that day. Nothing stood out as rude or hurtful. He just didn't understand what had brought this on.

As he approached his cabin, he grew nevious. What if Thalia did want to see him? Shaking his head, Jason pushed those thoughts away. This was his sister, of course she would want to see him… right?

Jason slowly opened the door, but didn't hear anything coming from the cabin. None of the usual music or muttering that accompanied Thalia. Cautiously, he stepped into the wide open space, only to see a small figure curled up tightly on one of the beds. Taking a small step forward, Jason immediately cringed at the sharp cracking sound the wooden floor made.

Almost as soon as the sound rang out, Thalia popped her head out of the little cocoon she had made for herself. Jason could see her red eyes and puffy skin from where we was standing across the room. He gave a soft smile, shut the door and walked over to his sister.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked, moving to sit on the bed with her. "Was it something I said? If it was, I didn't mean it."

Thalia just gave him a look and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "It- it wasn't anything you said, idiot," she whispered. She wiggled one of her hands out of her blanket and used it to wipe away her tears.

"Than what's wrong? You can talk to me, you know that." Jason was all too confused. If it wasn't anything he said, what could have possibly brought out this reaction in his sister? Thalia was never one to cry, she thought is showed too much weakness.

"I'm- I'm… I'm worrie-" Jason could tell that Thalia was having a hard time. He wanted to help but, he just didn't know how. She had to take a deep breath before she could continue and once she started, Jason had begun to understand what was wrong. "It's just… today made me really start thinking, you know? Like I'm going to live forever, or at least a really long time, and you, you and everyone else.. You guys aren't an-and I ju-just I don't think I can do this anymore. " Thalia simply couldn't continue, and shoved her face into her brothers shirt and cried. Jason held her close while his mind worked to catch up on what his sister had just said.

Jason knew that his sister was going to live a lot longer than him. She would forever look sixteen, and he would forever age. He didn't like to think about it though. He hated to admit it but, he was scared too. He hated to think of the day when they would be walking down the street and someone would think he was her father, or god forbid her grandfather. He didn't want to think about that, but knew that just because you ignored it didn't mean it would never happen. Instead, he had learned to accept that he would go old and die, while she would not. The only thing that comforted him was that she would never be alone. No matter what Thalia would always have a home, be that with the hunters or at camp. If she ever did choose to leave the hunters, he knew that Chiron would never turn her away. He took comfort in that little bit of knowledge.

"Oh Thalia," Jason signed. Thalia mumbled something Jason couldn't quite hear. "Thalia, I can't hear you. You have to speak up."

Slowly, she turned her head and whispered, "I think I'm going to leave the hunt."

Jason pulled away from her, before pulling her face to look at him. "You can't do that."

"Why not?" Thalia's face turned angry. "I don't want to watch you all die. All the other hunters… they had no one when they joined, they lost no one. I'll lose everyone but them! Percy. Nico. Annabeth. You!"

"Thalia, we aren't going anywhere," Jason said, shaking his head with a small smile.

"Maybe not now, but in 10 years? 20? 50? You aren't going to live forever." She shook her head and turned away from him, pulling her blanket closer.

"And neither are you." This brought Thalia's attention back to Jason. "Sure you'll live longer, but even hunters die. We'll wait for you."

"I can't ask that of you. Who knows how long it will be before I die…"

"A long time, hopefully. And you're not asking , I'm telling you I will wait. I know everyone else will too. We don't leave our own alone," Jason said. Thalia just shook her head. "Jus- Jut promise me you won't leave the Hunt, okay? You love them. It would break your heart."

"Losing you would hurt more."

"I'm not leaving, Thals. I'll never leave you." No one said anything after that. The cabin remained silent all night. The two remained in that same position for a few hours before Thalia fell asleep. Jason quietly tucked her into her bed before crawling in next to her and following her example.

In the end, Thalia remained in the Hunt. She never left, not after Percy's death, or Annabeth's, not even Jason's. She was sad, no one could deny that but everytime things started to feel like too much, she would remember those four words; 'I'll never leave you'. After a long and harsh battle, Thalia was struck down by the enemy but she wasn't scared. She knew, then, laying in the dirt and green grass, that she would never be sad again.

"I told you. I'll never leave you."


End file.
